Maternity girdle



K. L. VRACIU MATERNITY GIRDLE April 27, 1954 Original Filed Marbh 3,1950

Reissued Apr. 27, 1854 UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE MATERNITY GIRDLEKathryn L. Vraoiu, Santa Ana, Calif.

Original No. 2,606,322, dated August 12, 1952, 8arial No. 147,416, March3, 1950. Application for reissue April 7, 1958, Serial No. 347,"!

(Cl. Hll

Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: 1 appears in the original intentbut forms no part of this reissue specification; matter printed initalics indicates the additions made by reissue.

3 Claim.

This invention relates to a maternity girdle, and it is an object of theinvention to provide a garment of this kind which is free of parts, suchas stays or laces, that would be'irritating to the skin of the wearer.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a garment of this kindwhich can be worn with comfort and which provides an eflective supportespecially during the later stage of pregnancy.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a girdle whereinthe front upper portion is provided with a relatively large cutouttogether with a series of inserts to be selectively placed in thecutout, said inserts of a series being successively enlarged to allowfor normal growth.

The invention consists in the details of construction and in thecombination and arrangement of the several parts of my improvedmaternity girdle, whereby certain advantages are attained, as will behereinafter more fully set forth.

In order that my invention may be better understood, I will now proceedto describe the same with reference to the accompanyins d awingswherein:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of a maternity garment constructedin accordance with an embodiment of the invention and in appliedposition;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the garment in flattened condition,portions being broken awa Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view takensubstantially on the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyon the line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view in rear or inside elevation of the upperportion of an insert; and

Figure 6 is an elevational view of an insert unapplied.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawings, I denotes a continuous orendless band of stretchable or elastic material adapted to fit snuglyupon the person around the hips and over the lower portion of the torsoover the abdominal region.

The front portion of the band is provided with a large cut out 2 open atthe upper edge of the band and extending to a point closely adjacent tothe lower margin of the band, the portion of the band I below the cutoutI being unbroken.

The cutout I is also of a material width so that the area of the cutoutI exposes substantially the entire area of the abdominal region of thewearer, below the approximate waist line. A non-elastic selvedge l issecured to the marginal portion of the cutout I and spaced along saidselvedge are the outwardly disposed fastening elements 4, such asresilient heads.

The lower marginal portion, including the portion Ia below the cutout I,of the band i has secured therearound an elastic strip 5 while the ppermarginal portion of the band I from one side of the cutout 2 to theother has secured thereto the elastic band 8. These bands 5 and 6 serveto further tension the band I about the person, between the waist lineand the approximate plane of the right and left iliac regions.

The lower marginal portion Ia of the band I lies in, or slightly below,the plane of the right and left iliac regions, and has suitably securedthereto in required spaced positions the depending hose supports I ofpreferred style. These supporters provide means to hold the applied handagainst upward movement on the body of the wearer and thus increases theemciency of the girdle.

The band I at each side of the cutout 2 has secured thereto a strip ortape 8 which extends from the lower portion of the cutout I- on arearward and upward incline. The tapes or strips 8 assure furthereffective support and more particularly during the later period ofpregnancy.

The lower marginal portion of the band I may have attached therein alength 9 of a suitable trim although this is only incidental.

In association with the band I there is to be used a series of inserts Asuccessively of different fullness proportionate to the normal growthduring pregnancy. It is believed, however, that for the purpose ofdisclosure, a detailed description of a single insert A is sufficient.

The insert A comprising a suitable cut or panel of light non-stretchablecloth III and the marginal portions of the cloth III are gathered, as atII, to give the insert the desired fullness. The contour and dimensionsof the insert A is substantially the same as that of the cutout 2 and isprovided with a straight top marginal portion a along which is securedan elastic strip I2 prothe spaced and inwardly disposed fasteningelements i herein disclosed as socket members. for coaction with theiastening elements 6 whereby the insert A is removably but effectivelyheld in applied position over the cutout I. The dimensions oi. theinsert A are such to allow the side and lower portions oi thelnsert A tooverlie the marginal portions of the cutout 2.

From the above description it will be seen that my novel maternitygirdle provides advantages of use not found 'in previously availablegarments adapted for this purpose.

The cutout 2 permits the garment to be placed on or removed from thefigure with a minimum of physical effort and inconvenience, which is ofutmost importance during the period of pregnancy. Also, when insert .4is removably aglred in place to form a portion of band 1, my garmentcompletely envelopes that portion of the female figure extendingdownwardly from the waistline to a point of the upper thigh fast belowthe buttocks.

In addition, because of its resilient, compliant construction, my girdlesmoothly conforms to the abnormal contours of the figure during theperiod 1 of pregnancy to-provide a comfortable, supporting fit, andinasmuch as no lacings or bulk]! fastenings are employed therewith thegarment adds to the attractiveness and enhances the appearance ofthe-wearer.

The reinforcing strips or tapes 8 of my invention also provide anadditional important advantage over prior devices of this type in thatthetapes support the abdominal area covered by in-' sert A to givefurther comfort to the wearer and prevent deformation of the resilientband.

My invention also provides the advantage that it remains in the desiredabdomen-supporting position on the figure without requiring the use ofstraps or like accesssories extending upwardly over the shoulders of thewearer.

In addition to the above enumerated advantages, my girdle is adapted tobe fabricated from standard, inexpensive commercially availablematerials, and due to the simplicity of its structure, may bemanufactured to sell in the mediumpriced merchandising field.

From the foregoing description it is thought to be obvious that amaternity girdle constructed in accordance with my invention isparticularly well adapted for use by reason of the convenience andfacility with which it may be assembled and used.

I claim:

1. In a maternity girdle, a one piece band of an elastic material havingits back and side portions of substantially equal height to extenddownward from the approximate waist line of the wearer a distance thatthe lower portions of the sides overlie the hips, the front of the bandhaving a cutout separating the side portions above a relatively narrowbottom portion extending across the abdomen approximately in the planeof the right and left iliac regions, elastic reinforcing strips securedalong the top and bottom edge portions oi the band. a selvedge stripbounding the edge of the cutout, non-elastic reinforcing stripsextending diagonally upward and rearward about the side portions irornintermediate points of connection with the opposite side edges oi thecutout topoints 01' connection with the top edge of the back portion, aninsert 0! a nonelastic material having a selvedge edge for the cutout,and separable fasteners carried by the said selvedge edges tor securingthe insert in p ace.

2. In a maternity girdle, a continuous form- )ltting band of sheetmaterial having a back and side portions and a front portion, said frontportion having a cutout separating said side portions above a relativelynarrow bottom portion, elastic means that maintain tension onsubstantially the upper and lower edge portions of said band. an insertof sheet material of the same general shape as said cutout, fasteningmeans disposed on the edge portions of said insert and the edge portionsof said band adjacent said cutout that may engage one another toremovably hold said insertin place to form a part of said girdle, andelongate reinforcing areas that proceed downwardly and forwardly acrosssaid side portions from said upwardly disposed elastic means toterminate adjacent said cutout.

3. In a maternity girdle, a continuous formfitting band of resilientsheet material having a back and side portions and a front portion, saidfront portion having a cutout separating said side portions above arelatively narrow bottom portion, elastic means that maintain tension onsubstantially the upper and lower edge portions of said band, twoelongate reinforcing areas provided on said band, with each of saidareas p oceeding upwardly and rearwardly on said band from a positionadjacent one of the lower side portions of said cutout to a position onsubstantially the upwardly disposed edge of said back portion, an insertof sheet material of the same general shape as said cutout, andfastening means disposed on said insert and the edge portions of saidband adjacent said cutout that may engage one another to removably holdsaid insert in place to form a part of said girdle.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,079,552 Herman Nov. 25, 19131,301,618 Stradling Apr. 22, 1919 2,283,108 Versoy May 12, 19422,306,546 Kispert Dec. 29, 1942 2,464,093 Lo Cascio Mar. 8, 19492,469,793 Siegel May 10. 1949 2,472,15i Fiorito June 7. 1949 2,544,386Jacobs et a1 Mar. 6, 1951 2,575,605 Vandercook Nov. 20, 1951 2,587,307Garduno Feb. 26, 1952

